My Second Chance

#9 Getting To Know Each Other

Ryder's P.O.V

I carried her up the stairs with ease. She weighs like a feather.

I walked softly, making no noise against the ground to avoid waking the perfect angel in my arms. I opened the room with my elbows and foot. It wasn't as easy as I thought. I hope nobody saw it, it isn't one of my brightest moment.

Don't judge.

I laid her down on the bed. Not bothering about the dirt. I stared at her wounds and her bloody hair. I'm going to kill Alec for hurting her, Jay growled. I know. But he was just doing his job, we can't blame him, I answered. I felt anger for Alec, but it wasn't his fault. I opened a drawer from my bedside table and got out the first aid kit. I dabbed at her wounds with some disinfection. She winced in her sleep. I cleaned her wounds gently, trying my best to not hurt her.

I kept the first aid kit when I finished. Can I trust her? Of course you can, Jay snapped. I blocked him out.

I stared my mate who was sleeping peacefully. Can I afford to let her see the real me? The broken me? Can I trust her? Yes, I can. I smiled to myself. I'm going to show her the real me, not the one who lives up to the reputation, the most feared Alpha.

I slid in bed beside her. My arms immediately circled her waist. She shifted and I froze. Hurt flashed through me when I thought she was trying to get away from me. But soon enough, a grin etched across my face. I realized what she was tryinh to do. She wasn't trying to get away, she turned in bed to face me. She then wrapped her arms around me tightly, pushing herself into me. I tightened my arms that were around her as she snuggled intoy chest. Breathing her delicious scent, I fell asleep.

"No mummy! No! You can't leave me!" Someone screamed beside me. I jumped up, in defense mode. But then, my eyes shifted to the squirming figure on bed. "Hey... Umm.." I furrowed my eyebrows at her. What's wrong? Jay panicked. "Please! I'm sorry! Don't leave me! Help! Anyone, please help!" She screamed. "Hey, what's wrong?" I asked, kissing my angel in the forehead. "Drew! Control yourself!" She screamed. She's having nightmares. Get her up, Jay pleaded. Guess nobody wants to see their mate freak out because of nightmares.

"Hey baby, wake up...." I said gently, shaking her shoulders. I seemed to have an effect on her as she calmed down. "I'm sorry mum..." she sobbed softly. I looked over to the digital clock. It's 4.30 in the morning. I pulled her up into a sitting position, her back facing my chest. I let her lean against my chest and sit in the middle of my legs. She cried softly, snuggling into my chest. "Shh... Baby, it's fine." I said soothingly, rubbing her back. My heart hurts. It hurts to see her cry.

She snapped her blue eyes open. "Ryder?" She asked shakingly. "I'm here baby, I'm here." I said softly, hugging her. She sniffed.

"Where am I?" She croaked, her voice still rusty from all the crying she did. "You're in my room..." I whispered. She nodded her head. "Are you okay?" I asked, rubbing circles on her arms. She shuddered and I smirked at the effect I have on her. "I'm okay." She croaked out. Silence envelopes us as I hugged her tightly.

"I've to leave." She whispered suddenly. "What?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows. "I... I have to leave." She repeated. I could hear the unwillingness in her voice. "You don't want to leave." I stated. Her voice was a big giveaway. She was forcing herself to leave. "I... I want to." She stuttered. "Why don't we talk about this later? Since we are both awake, why don't you go take a shower first?" I said, gesturing to the wooden door on the tightly side of the room. She nodded and walked towards the bathroom. She froze in mid step. "Umm... can I have a towel, and umm... my bags..." she smiled sheepishly. "Oh yeah, wait a minute." I said and mind linked Alec. Hey, I called. Mmppph? Came Alec's muffled voice. Get your fat ass up, I smirked at him. Hey, I'm still your friend you know, he groaned. And you're doing this as Beta, I grinned. I could feel him jump out of bed. What do you need Alpha? He asked in a mocking voice. Bring the girl's bag to me now, I ordered. Why? He  grumbled. Just bring it here douchebag. I growled. He cut the line and went to get what I wanted.

My mate plopped herself on the bed, waiting for here bags.

Less than a minute, a knock on the door broke the silence. I opened the door to see a very sour faced Cole. "Cole?" I asked in surprise. I had not been suspecting him. He's my best friend, other than Alec. "Alec made me bring this up." He grumbled as he tossed me my mate's bags. I thanked him and slammed the door in his face. I heard him huff and a smile tugged at my lips.

"Who's that?" Her melodic voice cut through my thoughts. "My friend, Cole." I answered. She nodded and zipped open the bags I handed her. She took out a white off the shoulder top and denim shorts. Her undergarments came out soon afterwards. I felt myself blush a little. A little smirk tugged at her lips, obviously noticing my embarrassment.

She walked towards the bathroom. "The towels are in the bathroom." I called to her. "Okay." She answered. She was about to go in the bathroom but she turned around and looked into my eye.

"You know, you should smile more often. You look better happy." She said and slammed the door shut.